Moving On Up

It’s gonna be a strange Monday for Miami sports fans. On one hand, it’s the day after the final game for the Miami Dolphins, marking the end of the NFL’s regular season in South Florida. There are playoff hopes for the Fins, sure, but they’re remote.
On the other hand, Miami’s real sports season is about to begin. Attention will transfer from the field to the court when the Miami Heat takes on the divisional skid mark Atlanta Hawks, marking the first game of the rest of an NBA season that will hopefully end in a third championship for the Heat.
Even though it’s become fashionable for basketball talking heads to call the Eastern Conference the “E-League” (in reference to the NBA’s developmental D-League), these games still have to be played and won. The Heat is already proving its effectiveness at mopping the floor with the competition this year by amassing a ten-game win streak. The Hawks aren’t a true threat to the defending champs, but they are only the third team in the Eastern Conference to have a winning record.
Mon., Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m., 2013